Recovery from ICH – Potential Targets

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating clinical event caused by rupture of blood vessels and accumulation of blood in the brain. Many disorders, including hypertensive arteriosclerosis, amyloid angiopathy, neoplasia, coagulation disorders and cerebrovascular malformations, directly or indirectly damage blood vessels in the brain and thus lead to ICH. The annual occurrence of ICH is estimated to be approximately 0.12 million in the USA and 2 million in the world. These numbers are expected to increase due to the aging of populations. Although accounting for only 15-20% of all strokes, ICH has severe clinical symptoms and poor prognosis. The 1-year survival rate of ICH is estimated to be 38% and long-term physical and mental disability is found in more than 90% of the survivors. Sadly, there is no effective treatment for ICH. Currently, primary supportive care and risk factor control are the main therapy for ICH in clinics. Thus, research and development of effective reagents to treat ICH is extremely urgent. In this chapter, we first introduce the anatomy and biology of the blood brain barrier. Then the pathophysiology and animal models of ICH are reviewed. Furthermore, we summarize the potential therapeutic targets for ICH.